If Tuesday’s spring finale was any indication, the Red Sox big bats are ready for the regular season.
Rafael Devers hit his fifth home run of the spring and Trevor Story capped off a sensational spring at the plate to help the Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers 4-1 in the club’s final exhibition of spring training.
Devers’ solo shot came in the bottom of the first and he finished 1 for 2 on the day. Story went 1 for 2 as well, finishing the spring with a .380 average and 1.088 OPS. Masataka Yoshida went 2 for 2 on the day, Triston Casas came off the bench and went 0 for 1 with a walk, and Ceddanne Rafaela went 0 for 1 with a sacrifice fly as well as a brilliant diving catch in center field.
Top Red Sox relievers Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin both got on the mound one more time and looked ready to go as well. Jansen pitched a perfect seventh inning, giving him three straight scoreless outings since last Friday, and Martin pitched a scoreless eighth, giving him two straight scoreless appearances after a rocky spring debut.
Richard Fitts, one of the pitching prospects acquired in the Alex Verdugo trade, got the start and threw 3.1 scoreless innings while allowing two hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Isaiah Campbell capped off his perfect spring with a scoreless 0.2 innings with two strikeouts, giving him nine straight outings in camp with no runs allowed, Greg Weissert pitched a scoreless inning and Josh Winckowski allowed one run in his 0.2 innings of work.
The Red Sox finish 19-12-3 on the spring and will open the season Thursday night against the Seattle Mariners. Boston’s Brayan Bello will face off against Seattle’s Luis Castillo and first pitch is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. ET.
